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                 SECOND ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1584

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State of Washington      55th Legislature     1998 Regular Session

By Representatives Sherstad, Zellinsky, Dyer, Skinner, Backlund and Johnson

Read first time 01/31/97.  Referred to Committee on Health Care.

Revising provisions for school district employee benefits. 

    AN ACT Relating to school district employee benefits; and amending RCW 28A.400.270.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 28A.400.270 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 11 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

    Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 28A.400.275 and 28A.400.280.

    (1) "School district employee benefit plan" means the overall plan used by the district for distributing fringe benefit subsidies to employees, including the method of determining employee coverage and the amount of employer contributions, as well as the characteristics of benefit providers and the specific benefits or coverage offered.  It shall not include coverage offered to district employees for which there is no contribution from public funds.

    (2) "Fringe benefit" does not include liability coverage, old-age survivors' insurance, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, retirement benefits under the Washington state retirement system, or payment for unused leave for illness or injury under RCW 28A.400.210.

    (3) "Basic benefits" are determined through local bargaining and are limited to medical, dental, vision, group term life, and group long-term disability insurance coverage.  Basic benefits may be limited to one or more of the basic benefits listed in this subsection.  In districts offering optional benefits, any limitation of basic benefits must be agreed to by all employee bargaining units in the district.

    (4) "Benefit providers" include insurers, third party claims administrators, direct providers of employee fringe benefits, health maintenance organizations, health care service contractors, and the Washington state health care authority or any plan offered by the authority.

    (5) "Group term life insurance coverage" means term life insurance coverage provided for, at a minimum, all full-time employees in a bargaining unit or all full-time nonbargaining group employees.

    (6) "Group long-term disability insurance coverage" means long-term disability insurance coverage provided for, at a minimum, all full-time employees in a bargaining unit or all full-time nonbargaining group employees.

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